Swirled Peppermint Bundt Cake is a simple, from scratch cake recipe flavored with peppermint and topped with a thick, creamy glaze. Beautiful peppermint cake recipe that is absolutely delicious too!
Swirled Peppermint Bundt Cake is a simple cake recipe with tons of peppermint flavor! This peppermint cake recipe is made completely from scratch with less than 15 minutes of prep time!
Swirled Peppermint Bundt Cake
Swirled Peppermint Bundt Cake is a deliciously festive cake that is made by dividing the cake batter in half, leaving half of it white and coloring the other half red. Swirl the two batters together in a Bundt pan and you have a beautiful marbled cake that is so festive! The glaze on top is closer to frosting than a glaze, but you can just pour it on top for a drizzled effect that is fancy and absolutely gorgeous.
Ingredients in Swirled Peppermint Bundt Cake
Flour – You can use all-purpose flour or cake flour for the recipe.
Sugar – Can’t really have a cake without some sugar, right?
Baking soda & baking powder – The baking soda and baking powder act as the leavening agents in the cake, so don’t forget them! For best results, make sure they are both fresh and not expired.
Eggs – You’ll need 3 large eggs to bind all of the other ingredients together.
Milk – Most of the moisture in the cake comes from the milk. You can use any variety you have on hand. I usually use regular 1% milk, but pretty much any kind will work (even dairy-free alternatives).
Sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) – I almost always swap the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt in recipes. Sometimes I use vanilla Greek yogurt instead for a little extra sweetness and vanilla flavor. Plus, this way I can tell myself that there is more protein in the cake so then it counts as a meal, right?
Oil – Regular vegetable oil or canola oil both work great, but I often use coconut oil and that works great too! Just make sure to melt it down and cool a little bit before adding to the recipe if you use coconut oil.
Peppermint extract – You will need 1-2 tsp of peppermint extract. This is pretty strong stuff, so don’t just start dumping it in there. One teaspoon will provide quite a bit of flavor, but if you really like peppermint, go ahead and add that extra teaspoon!
Red food coloring – You can use any type of red food coloring, but if you use the gel type, the red color will be more intense.
GLAZE
Powdered sugar – This is the main ingredient in the glaze and provides a lot of sweetness. You will need 2 cups.
Heavy cream – The heavy cream makes this glaze so thick and creamy! Start with 2 tablespoons and if the glaze seems too thick, go ahead and add 1-2 more tablespoons. Keep in mind that the glaze will be pretty thick and a little bit more like frosting than a regular glaze typically is.
Peppermint extract – You only need 1/2 teaspoon for the frosting – don’t add too much!
Crushed candy canes – I love to add some crushed candy canes or crushed peppermints on top of the cake. They are so pretty and add a little bit of crunch and even more peppermint flavor too! And I love that now you can cheat and just buy a bag of crushed candy canes at the store – you don’t even have to pull out the hammer anymore!
How to make Swirled Peppermint Bundt Cake
Preheat oven to 325°.
In a large bowl, combine all of the cake ingredients except for the food coloring, and mix well. Divide it in half and put the other half in a separate bowl. Mix the red food coloring into half of the batter and mix well.
Butter and flour a Bundt pan or use baking spray with flour in it. Alternately scoop some of the red and white batters into the pan. Use a butter knife to lightly swirl the two batters together to create a marbled effect.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake is lightly browned and the center is baked through. (Cake should spring back if you press lightly). Remove from oven. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cake is cool, whisk the glaze ingredients together. Start with 2 Tbsp of the cream and add more if you’d like a thinner glaze. Drizzle on top of the cake and then garnish with crushed candy canes.
Swirled Peppermint Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup oil vegetable, canola or coconut
- 1-2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 oz red food coloring gel
GLAZE
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tbsp heavy cream
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- crushed candy canes for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the cake ingredients except for the food coloring. When batter is well mixed, divide in half and put the other half in a separate bowl. Mix the red food coloring into half of the batter and mix well.
- Butter and flour a Bundt pan or use baking spray with flour in it. Alternately scoop some of the red and white batters into the pan. Use a butter knife to lightly swirl the two batters together to create a marbled effect.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake is lightly browned and the center is baked through. (Cake should spring back if you press lightly). Remove from oven. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cake is cool, whisk the glaze ingredients together. Start with 2 Tbsp of the cream and add more if you’d like a thinner glaze. Drizzle on top of the cake and then garnish with crushed candy canes.
Nutrition
CONVERTING A BUNDT CAKE INTO A REGULAR CAKE
You can use a regular 9X13 cake pan but I like to use a Bundt pan when making cake recipes because the presentation is a little bit fancier the cake looks pretty without really having to decorate it at all. If you use a regular 9X13, make sure to reduce the cooking time to about 18-20 minutes.
SHOULD YOU LET A BUNDT CAKE COOL BEFORE FLIPPING IT?
Bundt cakes should always (unless otherwise specified) cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes. This allows the cake to naturally pull away from the sides as it cools. As a result, the cake is more likely to come out of the pan in one solid piece instead of breaking. Letting the cake cool completely in the pan can lead to an overcooked cake as the pan will continue to finish the cooking process due to the heat.
TIPS FOR MAKING A CAKE IN A BUNDT PAN (AND GETTING THE BUNDT CAKE OUT OF THE PAN TOO!)
There is nothing worse than making a delicious bundt cake and then having it get stuck when you try to get it out of the pan! Over the years I have learned a few tips that help make sure your cake comes out successfully! It may take a little bit of trial and error depending on which kind of Bundt pan you are using, but these tips should help!
–Use a quality non-stick pan like this one. They aren’t very expensive and the investment will be worth it when your cakes come out beautifully every time!
–Grease your pan! I know. You are wondering why you need to grease a non-stick pan because usually you don’t! Non-stick pans usually come with instructions that tell you not to use cooking spray at all because it can ruin the pan. Cooking spray can build up on the pan and it can make the non-stick coating less effective over time. That is true, but you still need to grease the pan somehow or it will likely stick. I recently received a very nice non-stick Bundt pan. I was so excited to try it out because I was told that nothing would stick to it and that it didn’t need to be greased at all. The cake was totally stuck in the pan when it was done baking!!!
- If you have a non-stick pan, grease it with melted shortening. I have had better luck with shortening than with butter. Just melt a little bit of shortening and then apply to the entire inside of the Bundt pan with a pastry brush.
- If you don’t have a non-stick pan, you can use this type of cooking spray – it works miraculously because there is flour mixed in with the spray. I have an older pan that is not non-stick and when I use this spray, my Bundt cakes come out perfectly every single time. If your pan is really old and the inside is really scratched up and your cakes keep sticking, it may be time to get a new pan!
- Also, make sure to grease your pan right before pouring the batter in. If you grease the pan too far ahead of time, the oil may drip down to the bottom of the pan, leaving the sides less coated.
-Let the cake cool before trying to get it out! If you try to remove the cake immediately after pulling it out of the oven, it will probably fall apart. You don’t want to let it cool completely either, but letting the cake rest for about 10 minutes should allow the cake to be cool enough to come out of the Bundt pan easily.
–Loosen up the edges of the cake with a knife. If you turn your Bundt pan upside down and wait a couple of minutes and it still isn’t coming out, try to identify which part of the cake is stuck. Often, there is just one or two parts that are stuck and you can very gently slide a butter knife in between the cake and the side of the pan to get it unstuck.
MORE BUNDT CAKE RECIPES TO TRY!
- CRANBERRY PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE
- VANILLA BUNDT CAKE
- APPLE BUNDT CAKE
- 7-UP POUND CAKE
- POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE
- ORANGE JUICE BUNDT CAKE
- LEMON PUDDING BUNDT CAKE
- ICED LEMON BUNDT CAKE
- EASY CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE
- EASY PINEAPPLE BUNDT CAKE
- GLAZED STRAWBERRY BUNDT CAKE
- PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE WITH CARAMEL GLAZE
- RED VELVET MINI BUNDT CAKES
Swirled Peppermint Bundt Cake is a simple, from scratch cake recipe flavored with peppermint and topped with a thick, creamy glaze. Beautiful peppermint cake recipe that is absolutely delicious too!
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